LMU women’s water polo players allege inappropriate touching by UCI opponent

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Two LMU women's water polo players accused UCI player Elena "Nina" Flynn of inappropriate touching of private areas during a game on Feb. 16. During the game, LMU fell to No. 6 University of California, Irvine (UCI), losing 11-8.

Two LMU women's water polo players filed a Title IX complaint against Elena "Nina" Flynn, a University of California, Irvine (UCI) water polo player, alleging inappropriate touching of private parts during a game on Feb. 16.

Flynn was suspended from the team by UCI's Title IX office one week after the reported incident and returned to the pool on March 10. Flynn's attorney, Alison Saros, told the Orange County Register that the investigation is still ongoing and has involved multiple interviews with Flynn and play-by-play review of the match in question.

The Loyolan secured exclusive interviews with three UCI women's water polo players and Saros.

"I do not believe that [Title IX] is an appropriate forum to litigate infighting that occurred in a very heated, contested water polo game with referees and direct supervision of any issues that [the complainants] may have had. This is something that should have been reviewed under NCAA policy, and not in the Title IX arena," said Saros.

The Loyolan has learned the names of the two LMU complainants but has elected not to publish them due to the sensitive nature of the allegations. Loyolan reporters contacted LMU Deputy Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator Ashley Armstrong on Friday, March 31, who did not respond for comment. The Loyolan reached out to Assistant Athletics Director for Communications Matthew Lerman to request comment from the two complainants; Lerman denied the request.

"We are not able to comment on the process or allow interviews to anybody involved. This is the policy followed by any media outlet who reaches out for comment on an ongoing investigation," responded Lerman.

Three UCI women's water polo players described to the Loyolan that the specific claim was that Flynn allegedly fingered the LMU players. The Loyolan granted the UCI players anonymity considering the sensitivity of the allegations.

"I want to make it clear that in water polo, people do grab suits in general, but the specific allegations that these girls are saying do not make sense for how the sport is played. Our suits are so tight that it does not make sense at all."

— Senior UCI women's water polo player

"[The LMU players are] claiming that all of this happened, and [they] still continued to play, so we didn't hear anything about the accusation until that Friday morning at practice. Our coach came to us and said that two of the players on [LMU's team] had accused somebody on our team of inappropriate touching down there … but no names were named, and our coach told us that the LMU coach said their players couldn't give a name or cap number," said a UCI graduate women's water polo player.

"It is impossible for [Flynn] to have done the things she is accused of doing. It is physically impossible, and if you look at the [game film], it will confirm as such … There is zero indication in this investigation that there was any foul called, or even argument, or even allegation of this during the game itself," said Saros told the Loyolan.

During Flynn's suspension, her teammates voluntarily withdrew from their own tournament, the prestigious Barbara Kalbus Invitational, on Feb. 24-26, despite objections from UCI's athletics department and university officials. Flynn is second on the team with 38 goals on the season and scored four times during the Feb. 16 game against the Lions that preceded her suspension.

LMU women's water polo (11-13 overall, 4-1 conference) surrendered four goals to Flynn, with Flynn scoring in all four quarters.

David Tedesco, an attorney uninvolved in the case and parent of Flynn's teammate Faith Tedesco, organized a GoFundMe page on behalf of Flynn and her family to pay for legal expenses. Tedesco wrote that, beyond being forced off the team despite having two seasons of NCAA eligibility left, Flynn could face expulsion from UCI plus criminal prosecution.

At the time of reporting, the GoFundMe has raised more than $29,000.

Tedesco increased the donation goal from $25,000 to $35,000, citing press interest in the case, increasing public attention online and the continued need for legal counsel as motivators.

Tedesco wrote in a GoFundMe update: "Before accepting this case to officially investigate, Title IX officials conducted no inquiry when they knew from the allegations themselves that there were almost 200 witnesses, including spectators, officials, coaches and teammates, as well as game film, of the alleged violations. By opening a formal investigation, Title IX has clearly gone well beyond their directive, authority and jurisdiction, all to the great detriment of one of their best students they supposedly exist to protect."

The investigation has garnered media attention from outlets including the New York Post and the Daily Mail, stirring a national conversation about the potential for Title IX violations in water polo.

"I do not believe that [Title IX] is an appropriate forum to litigate infighting that occurred in a very heated, contested water polo game ... This is something that should have been reviewed under NCAA policy, and not in the Title IX arena."

— Alison Saros, Elena "Nina" Flynn's attorney

"[Flynn] is now questioning her own character because of what all of these people are saying in those articles. So, she is mentally not okay. But no one in this situation would be, because it is literally ruining her life," said a senior UCI women's water polo player.

Although water polo is an innately contact-heavy sport, the NCAA Water Polo Rules & Interpretations book explicitly defines what constitutes illegal physical conduct. An act of flagrant misconduct involves "playing in a violent manner" with malicious and/or deliberate intent, including fighting, biting, kicking or striking an opponent.

"The treading water motion that we make, whether you are breaststroke kicking or freestyle kicking or egg beatering against someone when you are wrestling for position ... To move a suit and to physically insert your fingers into another person for a certain period of time, that just is not possible … It's like if someone tried to grab you and do something like that while you are running," said a junior UCI women's water polo player.

"I want to make it clear that in water polo, people do grab suits in general, but the specific allegations that these girls are saying do not make sense for how the sport is played. Our suits are so tight that it does not make sense at all," said the UCI senior.

Sara Trivedi, LMU's Title IX coordinator, was unable to comment in time for publication. On Monday, April 3, the Loyolan emailed UCI's Title IX Coordinator and Title IX Athletics Advisory Committee Co-Chair Tierney Anderson; UCI's Senior Associate Athletic Director, Senior Woman Administrator and Title IX Athletics Advisory Committee Co-Chair Erica Monteabaro; and UCI's Chief Campus Counsel and Title IX Athletics Advisory Committee member Andrea Gunn Eaton. The Loyolan did not receive responses from Anderson, Monteabaro or Gunn Eaton before publication.

Although water polo is an innately contact-heavy sport, the NCAA Water Polo Rules & Interpretations book explicitly defines what constitutes illegal physical conduct. An act of flagrant misconduct involves "playing in a violent manner" with malicious and/or deliberate intent, including fighting, biting, kicking or striking an opponent.

Tom Vasich, senior director for communications and media relations at UCI, shared the following statement with the Loyolan: "UCI takes all reports of alleged misconduct very seriously. While we cannot comment on any specific case, allegations of Title IX violations are promptly referred to our Title IX office in accord with UC policies and procedures. UCI encourages timely reporting and investigations to resolve concerns and support those impacted. UCI employees and students are regularly educated and informed about how to prevent, report and remedy potential Title IX concerns. We also have dedicated on-campus confidential resources to assist individuals impacted by such matters."

The Loyolan contacted three law firms that specialize in Title IX cases in higher education and did not receive responses.

The Loyolan reached out to Flynn via Instagram on Friday, March 31 and Sunday, April 2, and she did not reply to either inquiry. The Loyolan contacted Tedesco via GoFundMe and LinkedIn, and he did not respond. Saros confirmed in an email to the Loyolan that both Flynn and Tedesco received the messages, and that Saros would speak to the Loyolan on Flynn's behalf.

The Loyolan will continue to update this story as it develops.

Additional reporting by Jacob Rincon, asst. sports editor

Editor-in-Chief

Amy Carlyle ('24) is a screenwriting major from San Diego, Calif. She loves reading, live music and spending all of her free time at the Den.

Enterprise Reporter

Chris Benis ('24) is a marketing major from Seattle. He enjoys visiting Greece in the summer and singing with the Consort Singers, LMU's premier vocal ensemble.

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